In a Blur - Part 1

Welcome back to @loveitslight

Welcome back, everyone. Today, we are going to delve into a new series called 'IN A BLUR'.

The world felt like it was moving too fast—faster than Esther could keep up.

One moment, she was stepping off the bus, the next, the sky seemed to spin, and suddenly, she was somewhere else. Streets she didn't recognize. People she had never met. And yet, somehow... they all knew her.

"Esther, you've finally come back," a woman with striking green eyes murmured.

Esther froze. Back? She had never been here before. Or had she?

It started last week—the odd gaps in her memory, moments vanishing like ink dissolving in water. The sensation had worsened today, when she had left for work and found herself staring at unfamiliar sidewalks, unsure how she had gotten there.

And now, here she was, caught in this bizarre reality, where faces she didn’t know called her by name.

Her heart pounded as she backed away. "I think there's been a mistake," she stammered.

The woman's expression softened, but her eyes held a sadness that unnerved Esther. "No, my dear," she whispered. "You're just starting to remember."

Esther shook her head. "Remember what?"

The answer came in a rush—memories flashing across her mind like a broken film reel. Running through rain-soaked streets, laughter echoing through alleyways, whispered secrets carried in the wind. A life she had lived. A life she had lost.

And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the memories slipped away. She gasped, her vision blurring again.

Darkness overtook her, pulling her into the unknown.

Esther had always felt like she was standing at the edge of something bigger than herself—something just out of reach, something she couldn’t quite see.

She grew up in a small coastal town, where the waves crashed against jagged cliffs and the wind carried stories whispered by the sea. Her childhood was quiet, predictable, safe. But Esther never wanted safe—she wanted more.

Her father, an archaeologist, spent his days uncovering ancient secrets buried in the earth, while her mother filled shelves with books that held worlds beyond the one they lived in. Esther found herself caught between them—between history and possibility.

She was sixteen when the first memory slipped. Nothing major. A single afternoon she couldn’t recall, a fleeting gap in time. It wasn’t until years later, after she moved to the city, that the gaps widened. Days blurred into weeks, and suddenly, she wasn’t sure which parts of her life were real and which were missing.

Then came the moment she stepped off the bus and found herself in a place she didn’t remember—and yet, it remembered her.

Somewhere, buried deep beneath the surface of her mind, the truth waited to be uncovered. And Esther? She was ready to dig.

Esther’s vision swam as she tried to make sense of the situation. The streets, the people, the way Selene looked at her—all of it felt like a half-remembered dream she couldn’t quite grasp.

She took a step back. “I don’t understand. I don’t know you.”

Selene’s expression was calm, but behind her green eyes was something unreadable—something heavy. “You don’t remember me, but I remember you, Esther. I always have.”

A chill ran down her spine. Something about those words felt final, inevitable.

Behind her, a voice called her name.

She spun around to see Noah, her oldest friend, weaving through the crowd toward her. His dark eyes scanned her face, and relief flooded his features. “Esther, thank God! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Her heart pounded. How long had she been gone?

Noah grabbed her shoulders. “You disappeared for three days. No texts. No calls. And then I find you here?” He gestured around them, frustration laced in his voice.

Three days? That wasn’t possible. She had just stepped off the bus this morning.

Selene sighed, as if she had expected this. “Time doesn’t work the way you think it does,” she murmured.

Noah glared at her. “Who the hell are you?”

Selene didn’t flinch. “Someone who can help.”

Esther’s pulse quickened. “Help with what?”

Selene hesitated, then leaned in. “With remembering who you really are.”

The words struck her harder than she expected.

Noah shook his head. “Esther, we need to go. Now.”

But before Esther could move, another voice—low, steady, familiar in a way she couldn’t explain—echoed from behind her.

“You’re asking the wrong questions.”

She turned sharply to see Ronan, standing near the edge of the crowd, watching her with knowing eyes.

Selene’s face darkened. “Not him.”

Esther swallowed. “Why not?”

Ronan smirked. “Because she’s afraid of the truth.”

The ground beneath Esther’s feet felt unsteady.

The truth.

The pieces of her past—fragments that slipped through her fingers—were waiting to be uncovered.

And somehow, she knew that once she did, there would be no going back.

Esther’s world had always felt fractured—like she was living in the remnants of something half-forgotten. But tonight, standing on the unfamiliar streets with strangers who knew her name, she felt it more than ever.

Selene studied her with those unnervingly green eyes. Noah stood beside her, tense and protective. And then there was Ronan, the man who had appeared out of nowhere, his presence both unsettling and magnetic.

“You’re asking the wrong questions,” he had said.

And somehow, Esther knew he was right.

But Noah—faithful, steady Noah—gripped her wrist. “We need to go, Esther. Before this gets worse.”

His touch was warm, familiar. Safe. But something about it felt like an anchor when all she wanted was to chase the unknown.

She glanced at Ronan, who watched her with a knowing smirk. “Leaving won’t change the truth,” he murmured.

Selene stepped forward, eyes sharp. “She’s not ready for your manipulations.”

Ronan chuckled. “Manipulations? Or memories?”

Esther barely heard them. She was staring at him—at the way he moved like he belonged to the shadows, yet his gaze burned with an intensity.